WWE Friday Night SmackDown preview and schedule: October 11, 2019

Bengaluru, October 11: As rightly stated by WWE.com, 'Raw and SmackDown are officially on the clock’ as we get set to embrace the return of WWE Draft.

For the second time in 2019, the superstars’ fortune from both the main rosters will be decided via this process. Celebrity stars, a huge opening match, and more have been scheduled to add hype to the show which takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The first half of the 2019 edition of WWE Draft will be hosted on SmackDown whereas the rest will happen during next week's Monday Night Raw.

WWE wants to give the whole process a major mainstream makeover and hence they came up with big announcements before SmackDown goes on air. Following the big premiere night on FOX last week, we are in for another star-studded night from Vegas and it should bring even bigger viewership.

Two nights. Two networks.

The #WWEDraft begins THIS FRIDAY on #SmackDown and continues next Monday on #RAW! pic.twitter.com/XH0GtsVZNH

— WWE (@WWE) 8 October 2019

To ensure the same, a bunch of celebrity guests will be present on SmackDown namely Fourteen-time MLB All-Star and FOX analyst Alex Rodriguez, "Saturday Night Live’s" Michael Che and Colin Jost of “Weekend Update” segments, "Mr. Robot's" Christian Slater, “NFL on FOX’s” Joe Buck and Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman, and “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer. Apart from these names, a lineup of TV personalities and analysts will be waiting to make their presence felt,

• Kevin Burkhardt and Frank Thomas — FOX MLB analysts

• Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Jimmy Johnson, and Tony Gonzalez — FOX NFL Sunday

• Ronde Barber, Charles Davis, Chris Spielman, and Daryl Johnston — FOX NFL analysts

• Charissa Thompson, Michael Vick, and Peter Schrager — FOX NFL Kickoff

• Rob Stone, Brady Quinn, Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, and Urban Meyer — Big Noon Kickoff

• Joel Klatt — FOX College Football analyst

• Dule Hill of USA’s “Psych” and “Suits”

• James Roday of “Psych”

• Marcus Lemonis of “The Profit”

• Margaret Josephs and Melissa Gorga of “Real Housewives of New Jersey”

• Rodney Harrison and Chris Simms — Football Night in America

• Rebecca Lowe, Robbie Mustoe, and Kyle Martino — Premier League Live

It’s still not confirmed how these names will be utilized but WWE will surely use them to bring legit sports-feel to the 2019 Draft. Two pools have been created from Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live comprising of 41 and 30 superstars from the shows, respectively.

Check out the names that appear on the list as given below,

Friday Night SmackDown – Oct. 11

Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch

Roman Reigns

The O.C. (United States Champion AJ Styles, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson)

"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt

Drew McIntyre

Randy Orton

Sasha Banks

Ricochet

Braun Strowman

Bobby Lashley

Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross

Lacey Evans

The Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar)

SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Revival (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder)

Natalya

The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins)

Lucha House Party (Kalisto, Gran Metalik, Lince Dorado)

Cesaro

Kevin Owens

Humberto Carrillo

Akira Tozawa

Sin Cara

Eric Young

EC3

Chad Gable

Heath Slater

Drew Gulak

The B-Team (Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel)

Tamina

Raw – Oct. 14

Universal Champion Seth Rollins

WWE Champion Brock Lesnar

SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair

Titus O’Neil

Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura (with Sami Zayn)

Aleister Black

The New Day (Kofi Kingston, Big E & Xavier Woods)

Daniel Bryan

Bayley

Luke Harper

Erick Rowan

The Miz

Ali

King Corbin

Elias

Raw Tag Team Champions Dolph Ziggler & Bobby Roode

Samoa Joe

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane)

Rusev

Cedric Alexander

Rey Mysterio

R-Truth

Carmella

AOP (Akam & Rezar)

Heavy Machinery (Tucker & Otis)

Apollo Crews

Andrade

Liv Morgan

Jinder Mahal

Buddy Murphy

Mojo Rawley

No Way Jose

Dana Brooke

Shelton Benjamin

Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder

The IIconics (Billie Kay & Peyton Royce)

Sarah Logan

Fire & Desire (Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville)

Drake Maverick

#WWENow breaks down all the rules and previews the two-night 2019 #WWEDraft set to take place on #Raw and #SmackDown, presented by @Xfinity. pic.twitter.com/H2kdNReiKl

— WWE (@WWE) 11 October 2019

These superstars’ fate will be decided via the below-mentioned rules which are very similar to the 2016 edition,

♦ Over 70 Superstars, as well as tag teams, are eligible for selection in this year’s WWE Draft

♦ SmackDown will draft 30 Superstars, and Raw will select another 41 Superstars

♦ Since SmackDown is a two-hour show and Raw is a three-hour show, for every two picks SmackDown makes, Raw will receive three

♦ Tag teams will count as one pick unless FOX or USA Network specifically wants to pick only one Superstar from the team

♦ Any undrafted Superstars will immediately be declared free agents and able to sign with the brand of their choice.

#UniversalChampion @WWERollins and #TheBigDog @WWERomanReigns will kickstart Friday Night #SmackDown in a matchup with MAJOR #WWEDraft implications. #WWENow pic.twitter.com/fyLFJD24ZE

— WWE (@WWE) 10 October 2019

A huge matchup will kick off the WWE Draft on SmackDown when two Shield brethren collide in a matchup. Roman Reigns (representing SmackDown) vs. WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins (representing Raw) will be the opening contest of the night where the winner earns the first overall pick for their brand.

WrestleVotes came up with some spoilers on WWE Draft and they say that more surprises could be waiting for us as the officials are trying to stay very tight-lipped on the event.

Raw executive director Paul Heyman is very keen on Aleister Black and wants to keep him under the red brand. He is also very keen on retaining The Fiend Bray Wyatt on the flagship show much like the FOX officials trying to bring him on SmackDown. They are also keen on Roman Reigns and SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, who are on the blue brand.